Thursday, June 13, 2013

"McClusky"

So... today was supposed to be my rest day, but my friend and fellow sadist Brian McIntyre has been unsuccessfully inviting me to hit a hero WOD with him for well over a year now. Not that I have anything against hero WODs, I actually really like them. Just, for one reason or another, I keep dodging them whenever he brings it up. So finally I decided enough was enough, and I hit this one with him today.

To be perfectly honest, it wasn't as bad as I expected. I never missed any reps, and the hardest part was the running. For the muscle ups I did sets of 3 the entire way, for the burpee pull-ups I picked a steady unbroken pace, and for the pullups I did sets of 7. I never really felt in danger of bonking until the final 800 meters when I dialed myself up to full speed. If done right, I think most hero WODs should feel this way. They're more about pacing, consistency, and mental toughness than they are about speed. So although I'm sure I will feel the weighted muscle ups and pullups in the morning, I don't think my body will be too destroyed from today's lack of rest. My time was 24:15.

To limit the damage, I took a 10 minute soak in the American River (temperature hovering around 60 degrees) and then grabbed a massage. The 10 minutes I spent submerged in the water felt so natural and relaxing I can't even tell you. This should be a regular practice for anyone with access to fresh flowing reservoirs of water.